


Crush

by tiontia



Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-07
Updated: 2018-10-15
Packaged: 2019-07-27 14:26:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16220978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tiontia/pseuds/tiontia
Summary: au where the apocalypse never happened, and lee adopted clementine and aj. lee is offered a job at the ericson boarding school, to which clementine and aj decide to attend. they meet the boarding school kids and clementine realises she’s a bi disaster after developing a crush on one of her new roommates.





	1. and they were roomates

clementine reached over to the car stereo, turning down the volume as they pulled up towards the school. it was huge, a well aged building that was isolated, surrounded by forestry, away from the city. ‘Ericson’s Boarding School,’ the large sign at the gates read. this is where she would be spending the remainder of the school year along side lee and AJ. when lee had been offered the job position at the school clementine had been ecstatic. her whole life she had lived in Georgia, and as nice as the little suburbia was, her earlier memories from there weren’t the greatest. clem had always romanticised the idea of a new start, and now that it was minutes away from beginning she couldn’t help but feel a little underprepared.

“you okay sweetpea?” lee asks noticing a change in energy from clem.

the whole car trip she had been in a lively mood, singing to all the songs she swore she hated on the radio and laughing at all AJ’s bad attempts at jokes. but now lee couldn’t help but notice how quiet the teenager had gotten now that they had entered the gates and were searching for a car park.

“just a little nervous is all,” clem told lee truthfully as he finally found a parking spot.

“of course, that’s only natural clem but i know you and you’re going to fit in great. you have nothing to worry about,” lee comforts her tapping the bridge of the well worn baseball cap on the girls head teasingly.

clem couldn’t help but smile slightly. she was so lucky to have lee in her life, after everything that had happen, lee had been her rock and she couldn’t imagine the person she would be today without him.

the two exited the front of the car and as lee opened the trunk of the car, clem went around to the side to wake up the small boy in the back.

“hey, goofball, rise and shine,” clem spoke softly, gently shaking the boy.

his eyes opened quickly and he retracted hesitantly from clem’s touch feeing unsettled.

“oh shoot, sorry,” clem apologises knowing well enough by now how much AJ despised being snuck up on.

“ohh, it’s just you. wait, clem are we there?” AJ asks progressively become more and more awake.

“sure are,” clem says moving out of the way so AJ could exit the car.

“you kids mind carrying your own suitcases?” Lee’s voice came from the back of the car, to which both AJ and clem followed.

clem glanced up at the school again while being handed her suitcase, this time her excitement from the hours before returning making her smile.

•

after lounging around in the front office of the school as lee filled out some paper work, clem and AJ finally got to meet the principle of the school, Mr Moore, a middle aged man with a premature receding hairline who wore glasses that were too small for his face. He was the man who offered Lee the job at the school and had suggested that Lee brought his family with him as many of the teachers lived on the campus due to the school being so isolated. at first Lee didn’t think it was the best idea, AJ had only just got settled into his grade 3 class and clem was heading into her junior year of high school, but to his surprise both clem and AJ reacted positively to the idea of boarding at the school.

Mr Moore showed them around the school, gave clem and AJ their schedules for their classes before showing them to their dorms.

“so this is where lee and AJ will be staying as we need an adult to watch over the grade 3 dormitory, but as for you clementine, you will be rooming with the other grade 11’s. we have a lot of trust in our older students in which we don’t feel the need for their to be an adult supervising, but i must warn you, if we see or hear any funny business we won’t hesitate,” mr moore spoke sternly as he exited the grade 3 dorm, clementine, lee and AJ following, clementine the only one left with luggage in hand.

the group walked up what seemed like an eternity of stairs before reaching a door at the end of the south wings hallway.

“well here is your room, there are already 3 other students housing in this compartment and i’m sure they’ll be able to show you the ropes. if you need anything my office is on the north wing on the third floor. i’ll let you all get comfortable, and lee i’d like to see you tomorrow before your first class if that’s okay,” mr moore spoke and after receiving confirmation from the teacher he was on his way back down the hall.

“do you want us to stay with you clem, help you get set up?” lee asked noticing clem’s lack of movement towards opening the door.

“no.. i’ll be okay, i should probably do this on my own you know? i’ll see you guys at dinner though right?” clem turned around facing the two boys who were behind her.

suddenly there’s a loud amount of commotion from behind the door.

there is muffled yells that aren’t very distinguishable followed by some laughing. suddenly there is a loud clash that causes lee to step forward and open the door out of curiosity and concern.

clem and AJ both follow lee out of instinct to which the voices become much clearer.

“louis you can be such an ass sometimes, just give it back!” a girl with short pale blonde hair spoke attempting to grab at the boy in front of her hand which seemed to be holding a phone.

the boy was tall, he had a fair few inches on the girl making the event a little unfair.

“violet, violet, violet, all i asked was you to do the dishes. i’m sorry it has had to come to this, but i will return the phone once the task at hand has been done. unlike you i don’t want to set a bad reputation for ourselves in front of our new roommate,” the boy spoke humorously, a tease in his tone still not noticing the Everett’s families presence.

“too late,” AJ replied jokingly trying to make clem laugh, elbowing her in the side.

the two snapped around quickly at the sound of AJ’s voice making AJ shuffle under the two’s gazes uncomfortably, moving closer to clem.

“wait a second, this isn’t an all girls dorm?” lee suddenly spoke out distressed.

clem’s eyes drifted from lee to the girl who stood a few meters away in front of her.

her eyes stood out the most, they were vibrant, a green that reminded clem of the forest surrounding the school. her eyes contrasted drastically against her pale skin and hair. she was short, around the same height as clem, her hair was messy but in a cute way to which clem knew no matter how much hair care she attempted, she would never be able to achieve. the girl who she assumed was violet also appeared to be super thin and lanky, although her body was covered in an oversized sweatshirt that was colourful and stripy, along with some bike shorts and novelty socks. 

clem couldn’t help but find the girls appearance intriguing, she looked like none of her other friends from back in Georgia.

in saying that, neither did the boy to which she heard the girl call Louis. his skin was dark, darker than clementine’s and his hair consisted of voluminous dreadlocks. he wore a pale pink hoodie to which he had paired with a pair of grey sweatpants and pulled off rather well clem had to admit. 

clementine completely ignoring lee’s comment and took a step forward to which both violet and louis instantly brought their gazes.

louis instantly placed the phone back in violet’s hand and made his way toward the group.

“hi, i’m louis. you must be clementine everett right?” louis asks, a charming smile on his face before holding out his hand for clementine to shake.

“that would be correct,” lee answered for her, his protective instincts taking over.

“oh uh, you must be mr everett, the school new history teacher,” louis replies his confidence now a bit shaken.

clem can’t help but notice the smirk that arises on the blonde girls face at louis’s instant loss of confidence.

violet’s eyes meet with clem’s and her smile fades a little before shyly returning.

clem smiles back also trying to be polite although the situation is rather awkward.

“that would be me, now if you could, explain to me why this school think it’s okay to let boys and girls to room together?”

•

after another awkward conversation between louis and lee, and lee having a word with mr moore, lee finally settled down slightly as he finally finished helping clem unpack her stuff in her room.

it’s not like he had anything to worry about really, the grade 11 were checked on every few hours and he knew clem was responsible enough to make the right decisions. 

“i better head back to check on AJ, i’ll see you at dinner okay? text me if you need anything,” lee told her as he placed clem’s suitcase in the small closet that was now cramped with all her clothes.

“will do,” she replied as she finally collapsed on her as she heard lee exit the room.

ever since the awkward confrontation, her new roommates had been avoiding her. clem knew lee could be a little overprotective but this kind of extreme, she didn’t expect him to scare away her new roommates. she had noticed them walking past her room as they were unpacking and how whenever either met her gaze they would smile (mainly louis), well that was until lee noticed and they would quickly walk away. 

gathering all her energy she got off her bed and decided that this would be the best time to go talk to them herself, this time without any parent figures butting in. she walked down the hall and into their shared living area which consisted of a small living room and small somewhat of a kitchen mainly consisting of a mini fridge and microwave.

around the coffee table in the living room sat three teenagers, two of them making up louis and violet and another she did not recognise.

“hey clementine, we are playing war, come join us,” louis said gesturing her over shuffling slightly leaving room for her between him and violet.

clem still not saying anything sat between the two, her arm brushing against violet’s as she sat causing her to quickly retract and blush slightly.

“well since your dad isn’t here to interrupt our introductions, like i said before, hi i’m louis, that is marlon and that’s violet” he said gesturing at the other two.

“hey,” marlon spoke resting his arm on the coffee table.

marlon had hair similarly coloured to violet’s, clem would have assumed they were siblings if it wasn’t for the drastic difference in facial features. marlon’s hair was styled in an mullet which lead to clementine questioning his style choices, along with that his face of relatively square, his body broad unlike louis who was tall and slender, and his skin was pale much like violet’s yet his face was covered in freckles and his cheeks lightly dusted with acne spots. 

“hi i’m clementine,” clem finally spoke, her voice surprising her with how much confidence it held.

“hi clementine, i’m violet,” louis mocked violet as she was the only one out of the three who hadn’t personally introduced herself.

“what he said,” violet said rather gloomily as she shuffled the cards before handing them to louis.

clementine glanced between violet and louis before back to marlon.

“right, so war. do you know how to play?”  
louis asked.

“not exactly, but i’m sure i’ll be able to pick it up,” clem replied looking at louis.

“it’s easy, we all get a card, who ever gets the highest number wins and whoever gets the lowest loses. but to make it more interesting, whoever gets the highest number gets to ask a question and who ever loses has to answer,” louis explains.

violet rolls her eyes.

“you can’t just ask her questions like a normal person,” violet teases to louis.

“hey, this makes it more fun,” he replied dealing out a card to each player.

everyone flips their card over including clem.

“ha, victory violet,” violet cheers as she holds an ace in her hand.

clem looks at her card realising she has a two.

clem looks at the girl beside her as she looks in thought about what question to ask clem.

clem feels butterflies in her stomach as she finally gets to see the girl up close, she’s pretty that’s for sure. her sarcasm and her lack of self introduction towards clem had clem feel a little less friendly towards the girl. yet in saying that, clem couldn’t help but find her appearance appealing and not only that but her lack of interest towards clem also made clem want to get to know her more.

“lee.. he doesn’t really look much like you, neither did that kid who was with you, is he your dad?” violet asked.

clem wasn’t really expecting such a personal question so early in the game, but at the same time the girl’s bluntness was rather charming as most people were often shy and awkward around clem’s family situation.

“he’s my foster dad, and that kids my foster brother, his names alvin junior, aj for short, he’s also a child lee fostered,” clem  
explains. before, after everything had happen clem used to feel embarrassed about having to explain her family situation as it was different to most of the other kids at her school but now she was proud. she loved her family and she was lucky to have lee and aj in her life and wouldn’t have it any other way.

“that’s cool,” louis commented and marlon nodded in agreement.

violet just raised her eyebrows at the girl as louis dealt out the next hand of cards.


	2. smiles and chicken nuggets

the rest of the game went by relatively fast. clem winning a few rounds, asking questions of where the other teens were from and finally being able to question marlon about his haircut.

“ha i win,” louis cheered holding up his ace.

clem glanced down at her own card realising she had received the lowest number in the group.

“so clementine.. ever had a boyfriend before?” louis asked, smirking slightly but clementine could notice some hesitation in his question.

“oh my god,” violet rolled her eyes leaning back into the couch seat behind her annoyance in her voice.

“what, it’s a totally normal question?” louis tried to justify himself as marlon smirked at him.

“sort of,” clem slowly answered, her face heating up slightly.

this seemed to peak violet’s attention as she lowered her head from looking at the roof to looking at clem.

“but you guys aren’t together anymore right?” louis questioned.

“no, i don’t think we were really a thing from the start,” clem replied honestly fiddling with her card in front of her.

“well that’s his loss,” louis said smiling at clem to which she returned.

“guys it’s 6:30, we should head down for dinner,” marlon informed the group, causing them to all stand up and pick away the cards.

small talk was made between the four as they made their way down to the dinning hall which was filled with other students sitting at tables hunched over their meals.

marlon and louis walked over to the counter to grab a plate as the two girls hung back looking around at the dinning haul.

“hey, um-“ violet started but before she could finish clementine was knocked with a force which caused her to bump into violet who quickly regained her balance unlike clem.

“clem!” AJ called as he clung to clem.

so that was what nearly sent me across the room clem thought.

regaining her balance she blushed instantly realising violet had caught her when she was off balance and had her arm on clem’s shoulder.

after making eye contact with the girl and looking back at where she was touching clem, violet quickly removed her arms crossing them while blushing perfidiously. 

“clem!” AJ spoke again trying to gain clem’s attention.

“geez goofball you nearly knocked me flat on my back,” clem finally replied.

“sorry, it’s just you have to come meet my friend, his names Tenn and-“

“violet,” another kids voice interrupts.

clementine turns her attention away from AJ to see Violet talking to a younger boy, a year or two older than AJ who wore his hair short and had a large scar on the left side of his. clem wondered how violet knew the boy as there seemed to be a big age gap between the two and they looked nothing alike.

“That’s him there!” AJ exclaimed.

“oh hey AJ, is that your older sister?” Tenn looked over at the loud boy beside Clem.

AJ nodded.

“Hi i’m Tenn, it’s nice to meet you,” the taller out of the two boy says smiling shyly.

“i’m Clementine, it’s nice to meet you too,”

The two boys turn to each other and start up a conversation instantly, talking like they had been friends for years.

“AJ makes friends quickly,” Violet comments looking down at her old worn out converses.

this surprised clem, as out of the two of them, she had always been the better one at making friends. AJ always seemed to struggle when it came to socialising, it’s why it took him so long to settle into his old class. clementine on the other hand was a little more outgoing, and she found that most people got along with her.

“uh yeah, it’s good to see he’s settling in easily,” she replied glancing at the girl beside her.

“oh um sorry about knocking into you before,” she quickly added on.

“it’s fine, good thing i was there to catch you huh,” violet smirked slightly.

clementine’s stomach instantly felt weird. it felt like a bunch of wasps were flying around and the only thing she could pin point that caused it was violet’s smirk. it was snarky but in a cute sort of way and clementine couldn’t look away.

“vi! clem! over here!” Louis waved the two over to a table filled with other teenagers.

both violet and clem said goodbye to the boys.

before making there way over to the table.

violet seemed slightly hesitant as she scanned the people at the table. 

“we didn’t get food,” violet informed clem.

“oh right, well let’s-“ 

“i’ll get us some food, it’s my treat since it’s your first night and all, plus i already know what’s good and what’s to avoid,” violet rambled quickly.

“oh um okay, thanks violet,” clem smiled accepting the girls offer.

violet smiled back before glancing at the people at the table and frowning. just like that she had her back turned and was heading towards the food court.

“clem!” louis called patting the seat beside him.

shyly clem made her way over and sat down next to louis glancing at all the people on the table.

There was a boy who was writing in an old leather book, pen in one hand, a fork in the other. A girl who had curly red hair, a round face that was covered in freckles.  
Another boy talking rather loudly to Marlon, his hair was a brown, long and fell into his eyes. Beside him was another boy who was eyeing his food with disgust on his face reaching for the salt.

and finally another girl who sat across from clementine, her hair was slicked back and a dirty blonde colour.

“i knew sitting back here was going to be a bad idea,” the girl spoke sadly with a thick southern accent looking at louis.

“well you can’t keep sitting with the grade 10’s plus i’m sure violet well get over it, it’s just cause you haven’t been back in so long,” louis spoke, comforting the girl.

“it’s been a year louis, if she had forgiven me she would be my friend by now,” the girl snapped annoyed.

“chill brody, it’s okay. you know how vi is, she just... she just need time okay?” louis replied his tone getting sadder by each word.

clementine couldn’t help but feel invasive on their conversation so she looked around at the rest of the people at the table and then towards to the food court for violet.

although clementine didn’t know the full story she understood now why violet had decided to leave so quickly. she obviously didn’t get along with the girl across her called brody and wasn’t too keen to see her back at the table.

“oh right! guys this is clementine, she’s our new roommate,” louis spoke loudly causing the rest of the teens to quiet down and murmur their hello’s.

clementine couldn’t help but feel awkward. today had not gone the way she had initially planned.

she had expected to have made plenty of friends by now but her chest felt heavy and her mouth dry leaving her feeling unable to speak, which was kind of unhelpful when you’re trying to make friends.

by all means it hadn’t been bad at all, her roommates seemed okay and she liked her new room but she just felt like she wasn’t clicking with the group of friends. as they all talked among themselves, clem could feel herself disassociating and getting overwhelmed with her thoughts.

suddenly a hand on her shoulder brought her back down.

“here,” a small voice says placing a tray of food in front of her. instantly as soon as it had came the hand was gone.

violet took a seat beside her not being noticed by the rest of the group except for brody and louis who quickly went back to their conversation.

violet kept her head down looking super intrigued by the handful of chicken nuggets she had on her plate.

clementine glanced at her own plate which also mainly contained chicken nuggets.

“geez vi, just cause you love chicken nuggets so much doesn’t mean you have to corrupt poor clementine here,” louis joked noticing the trays in front of the two girls.

violet glanced at him and before she is able to say anything back clementine hears herself interrupt.

“its fine, i love chicken nuggets,” the words left clementine’s lips before she even had the chance to think.

why did she just lie? i mean she wasn’t really lying, she had never had chicken nuggets before so she didn’t really know if she liked them or not. but she sure hoped she did because her comment made that smile return to violet’s face and her stomach felt like it was a wasp nest.


	3. compliments

after dinner clem stopped by lee and AJ’s dorm to say goodnight. the three sat in the living room area talking about their experience and thoughts on the school so far, AJ was overjoyed about making his first new friend and excitedly told clem all about Tenn.

clem found out that Tenn was two years older than AJ but was held back a year due to a family incident. the grade 3 and 4’s shared split classes so AJ had been paired with him for a tour.

after tucking AJ into his bed and giving Lee a hug good night clementine made her way back to her dormitory.

inside she saw the two boys sitting on the couch, the coffee table covered in snacks watching a movie.

at the small 4 seater dinning table violet sat hunched over a note book, a pen in hand, her eyebrows scrunched together.

clementine assumed violet was finishing off some holiday homework since the new semester started tomorrow. deciding not to disrupt anyone and being able to sneak past her three roommates she grabbed her towel and headed for the shared bathroom.

inside clementine took her shower in peace, appreciating the burning hot water on her skin as she washed her hair. taking a minute to not think for a while clem focused on her shower routine.

after clem exited the bathroom she made her way out covered in her towel, heading straight for her bedroom. after closing the door clementine was almost instantly interrupted from grabbing her pj’s by a knock at the door.

“wait one second!” clementine called, her hair still dripping as she slid on an oversized shirt and pj shorts.

she opened the door to revealing the shy blonde girl, glancing at the roof.

“oh sorry, i didn’t realise you were getting changed,” violet spoke mesmerised by clem’s wet hair which she had only previously seen in pigtails.

clem noticed she had changed as well, violet wore a baby blue tank top and a pair of grey sweatpants. in such tight clothing clementine noticed how thin the girl really was. 

“oh, it’s fine, i just thought i would have a shower while everyone seemed busy,” clem rambled.

“do you wanna come in?” clem spoke stepping out of the door way.

“oh um yeah, okay,” violet replied seeming unsure of herself. 

violet took a step forward looking around the room.

“it looks so different,” violet spoke quietly to herself but clem overheard.

“oh um yeah, i hope that’s okay? i mean there was still a lot of stuff left in the room when i first got here, none of it was yours was it?” clem spoke looking around her new room and looking back at violet.

violet sat down on clem’s bed shyly.

“oh uh no, um it was all the previous roommates stuff,” violet spoke, her voice becoming smaller.

clem slowly made her way over to her bed and sat next to violet, still keeping plenty of distance between the two.

“yeah i thought so, when did she move out?” clementine asked curiously.

“a year ago,” violet spoke refusing to look at clem.

clementine refused to press on the matter any longer as it seemed to be making violet uncomfortable.

a silence fell on both of them as they both stared at the floor for a moment.

“oh um right, i just um wanted to say sorry about the whole dinner situation, i was kinda weird. i just.. i’m not exactly a people person is all,” violet confessed finally looking clem in the face.

“you came off alright, i thought you were pretty cool,” clem replied being honest.

a small smile appeared on violet’s face.

“uh thanks, i thought you were pretty cool too,” violet replied pushing a strand of her hair behind her ear.

“it just sometimes get a little too brotown for my liking in the dorm with louis and marlon and all and i just wanted to say i guess i’m glad to have another girl in the dorm and stuff,” violet finally spilled turning to face clem more.

“i get that, i’ve lived with two boys most of my life and well i’m happy to be here, you all seem super chill and nice,” clem spoke choosing her words carefully, smiling at violet.

the two girls sat smiling at each for a few seconds before violet stood up.

“well i better go to bed, it was nice talking to you,” violet said unable to take her eyes off clem.

“you too,” clem replied also standing up.

“your um hair...” violet says slowly looking at clem’s hair.

clem instantly reached at her hair noticing how curly and puffy it must have looked. instantly she began looking for a hair tie.

“oh ugh yeah, sorry it must be a total mess,” clem joked shyly instantly feeling a little insecure.

“i..i was just gonna say it looks really pretty,” violet said swallowing hard after adverting clem’s gaze.

clem’s mind began to race and her face heat up.

“oh... thanks!” clem shyly accepted the compliment smiling hard enough to hide her blush.

“you’re welcome. goodnight clementine,” violet finally said before smiling at clem and making her way out the door before closing it behind her.

clem stood in the middle of her room trying to depict what she was feeling. she had never really felt this way before, it felt different to when any of her old friends would give her compliments. why did violet’s make her react that way? why did violet in general make her react so differently?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this is sort of short, i’m currently studying for exams but couldn’t help but write another chapter. i’m so glad to hear such a positive response from you guys! i hope you guys enjoy reading as much as i enjoy writing. p.s. i love my useless disaster of a lesbian violet.


	4. first day and confessions

first days always felt important to clem. it probably had something to do with the way she romanticised a fresh start. a first day of school, the year, the month, they all felt like fresh starts.

clementine stood in her room looking at herself in the mirror. she glanced down at her outfit, a cream sweater layered with a pair of brown short overalls. her shoes were her floral dot martens and she had her hair tied back in two low buns by white scrunchies. she knew she wasn’t going to put as much effort into her outfits after the first day so she decided to at least make a good first impression.

she looked nice she thought before grabbing her school bag and leaving her room.

in the living area marlon sat on the couch eating a bowl of cereal watching something on his laptop. louis and violet sat at the dining table talking in low voices to each other. they instantly stopped when they both saw clementine.

“morning clementine! how did you sleep?” louis spoke cheerfully.

“pretty good thanks, how bout you?” clem replied dropping her bag on the kitchen counter.

“like a baby,” louis cooed.

“you haven’t gone food shopping yet right? you can borrow some of my cereal if you like,” louis continues flashing clementine a charming smile.

clementine glanced at the box of sugary cereal on the counter.

“louis that’s just straight up sugar,” violet finally spoke up.

“that’s a lot coming from a person who solely lives off chicken nuggets,” louis joked making clem snicker slightly.

violet glared at both of them, shoving a piece of toast into her mouth.

with her mouth still full violet spoke,

“if you don’t wanna go into a sugar induced coma, i have some bread there if you want toast clem,” 

clementine couldn’t help but smile at violet’s use of her nickname.

“thanks,” clem smiled back which left the two at the table in ahw.

clem made herself some toast and ate quickly before following the rest of the group to their first class. 

the school day went by rather quickly and by the time they all got back to the dorm they were all exhausted, clementine especially. she had more than double the amount of homework the rest had as she had missed the first semester of the school year, so she had a lot of catching up to do.

“assim totally has a thing for ruby,” marlon spoke to louis.

“asim likes ruby?” violet questioned over hearing marlon, raising an eyebrow.

clementine listened in on the groups conversation as she unpacked her homework. through out her classes she had made more small talk with the rest of the grade 11 group who they sat with at dinner. during lunch clem even spoke to brody about bands they liked and assim and her spoke about their favourite tv shows. 

“it’s kind of obvious isn’t it?” louis said taking a seat at the dinning table that clem was unpacking her stuff.

“i guess so, i don’t know?” violet replied taking the seat across from louis.

“violet, violet, you oblivious lesbian,” louis spoke seriously.

this caught clementine’s attention, her head snapped up from the mountain of work sheets in front of her to violet.

louis noticed clem’s facial expression and quickly shut his mouth.

“oh uh, you hadn’t told her yet?” louis said awkwardly, guilt laced in his voice.

violet looking clem directly in the eyes shrugged.

“no i hadn’t, but yeah i’m gay, so what?” violet replied calmly and with more confidence then clementine was expecting.

“n-nothing, i just hadn’t expected louis to say that is all,” clementine replied not exactly knowing what to feel. 

clementine wasn’t homophobic by all means, it was just at her old school no one really talked about sexuality as much as clementine liked to think about it. it had taken her by surprise to hear someone so sure and accepting of themselves. 

violet adverted her gaze from clementine, now appearing a little unsure of herself.

“that’s cool though, i mean...” clementine tried to search for the right words but found herself short of them.

“don’t worry about it, i get it,” violet spoke annoyance somewhat in her tone.

clementine sat down feeling a little defeated. she hope she hadn’t offended violet, that was the last thing she wanted to do.

louis coughed awkwardly.

“come on, we’ll help you with all the semester one stuff clem so you’re up to date,” louis said grabbing a few of the work sheets off the pile.

4 hours later the group was sprawled out on the couch and rug in the lounge area. papers covered nearly every surface yet all of them were completed.

“we did it,” marlon mumbled in defeat.

“thank you, you guys seriously,” clementine said as she began packing away, organising the papers.

violet laid on the couch making a paper airplane out of one of her own homework sheets.

there was a sudden knock at the door and all the three teens apart from clementine groaned.

standing up, clem made her way to the door, opening it to reveal lee and standing beside him, Tenn who looked somewhat distressed.

“hey, is everything okay?” clem asked looking between the two.

“Tenn said he need to see violet,” lee spoked this caught violet’s attention and she sat up looking over the couch at the front door.

“also i came to check on you, you didn’t come to dinner sweetpea,” lee continued gesturing Tenn to go inside, clem stepping out of the way allowing them in.

violet got off the couch and made her way over to Tenn were they began to speak quietly.

“sorry yeah we totally forgot, the group was helping me with catching up on all the homework from last semester,” clementine explained.

lee smiled feeling proud of the girl’s dedication to school.

“well it’s glad to hear that you were all being productive then,” 

clem noticed violet and tenn leaving the dorm and making their way down the hall.

“anyways, i brought you up some food for breakfast which i guess might be more beneficial to you now,” lee continued not noticing the two had left.

“thanks, i’m starving. how’s AJ?” clem asked realising she had gone a full day without seeing the younger boy.

“honestly he seems great clem, he’s fit in well and he seems happy, although i think he does miss you not being around 24/7,” lee joked.

this made clem smile.

“how was your first day of classes?” clem asked again continuing the conversation.

 

not too long after lee left after realising violet and tenn had left to go for a walk, he gave clem a hug goodnight after talking about their days. clem told him to give her love to AJ and he was on his way.

clem remained the only one left in the living area as the two boys had head off to their rooms to sleep. 

she had changed into her pjs and had her hair untied spread out on the couch as an unruly mane as she watched an episode of brooklyn 99 on her laptop that sat on her lap.

it had been an hour and a half since violet had left with tenn and clem couldn’t bring herself to go to her room just yet.

part of her stayed in the living area because she had better reception to the school wifi there than in her room but another part of her wanted to make sure violet got back to the dorm safely.

the front door was unlocked and clementine jolted up looking at the door.  
violet walked in rubbing her hands together and jumping slightly when she noticed clem on the couch.

“sorry, i didn’t mean to startle you,” clem spoke switching on the lamp beside her.

she had been sitting in the dark so violet probably hadn’t even noticed her.

“it’s fine,” violet’s voice sounded huskier than usual, as if she had been crying.

“everything okay?” clem asked genuinely.

“um, yeah... yeah everything’s okay, just really cold,” violet answered crossing her arms to keep her warm.

“here,” clem said sitting up making room for violet and lifting the blanket that’s covering her.

violet hesitated slightly but sat down next to clem, flicking off her birkenstocks.

the girls had to sit relatively close to each other as the blanket wasn’t very large, so violet’s cold arm pressed up against clementines warm one and neither of them were able to maintain eye contact.

clem finally broke the silence.

“so um how do you know tenn?” clem asked, not trying to sound too invasive.

violet swallowed, “well he’s um.. my ex girlfriend’s little brother,” 

“oh,” clem spoke still slightly confused about tenn and violet’s ‘friendship’.

“that sounds weird doesn’t it?” violet chuckles slightly.

“sort of,” clem replied smiling back.

“his sister.. my ex, minnie, she used to be be our old roommate,” violet explained painfully.

“oh.. but you said she moved out a year ago? why did she leave all of her stuff?” clem realised she had crossed a line when violet shifted away from her slightly.

“sorry,” she quickly followed.

“no it’s fine, louis is bound to tell you sooner or later, like with the whole sexuality thing,” violet joked but she was far from smiling.

“oh yeah, about that, i’m super sorry if i made you feel uncomfortable or anything, like i’m totally cool with it and everything, like lee takes AJ and i to pride every year with his friends javi and jesus. it’s just, back at my old school no one really talked about that sort of stuff,” clementine found herself rambling trying to defend her awkwardness earlier.

“i wasn’t expecting someone to be so honest about it is all,” clem continued.

“it’s fine, i get it. and it’s cool that your an ally and stuff, it means a lot.” violet smiled shyly at the girl beside her.

“yeah.. ally,” clem thought aloud.

“what’s up?” violet asked noticing clem was somewhat out of it.

clementine’s mind was racing with the words ‘tell her’ over and over again but she couldn’t bring herself to say it. she had never told anyone, not even lee. this should be easy, she thought.

“nothing, it’s fine. sorry you were saying stuff before, about me finding out from louis,” clem replied.

this seemed to have put a dampener on violet’s mood as her smile instantly disappeared.

“right,” violet spoke slowly.

“um the reason why all minnie’s stuff was in your room...” violet seemed to be getting choked up on every word and clem can’t help but reach out and comfortingly touch violet’s hand that rests on top of the blanket.

clem can help but panic at her own actions after realising what she had done, but attempts to keep her cool with violet.

“minnie died a year ago in a car crash. she was heading home for the winter break with her sister Sophie, Tenn and Brody. Brody was driving and the roads were really icy and...” violet can’t continue. a few tears slide down her face, but she turns away from clem hiding her face by her hair.

clem squeezes the girl’s hand hoping to bring her some sort of comfort although she doubts that it’s possible.

“sorry, i don’t mean to be such a sad sap,” violet chuckles at herself as she wipes her tears on the back of her hand.

“vi, it’s okay, you lost someone super close to you, a person you obviously very deeply cared about and it’s okay to be upset about it, it’s okay to cry. i promise i won’t judge you,” clem swore to the other girl.

“thank you clem,” violet’s voice was small and unfamiliar. clem took note of violet’s  
vulnerability and felt the need to protect the girl, giving her as much emotional support as she needed.

the two girls sat there, hand in hand, room lit by the small light created by the laptop as they both shared small teary glances between each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you all enjoyed!


	5. a bisexual crisis and coming out

the next morning clementine woke up on the couch by herself. she didn’t remember a whole lot after her and violet’s chat last night other than they decided to finish the episode of brooklyn 99 together and that clem struggled to keep her eyes open through the majority of it.

she kicked off the blanket and stood up, her bones aching from laying on the uncomfortable couch as she made her way to the bathroom to wash her face and get ready for the day.

as she was about to enter the door opened and violet appeared, her hair damp and a towel wrapped around her. 

“oh sorry!” clementine quickly spoke.

violet’s face seemed to flush a shade of pink.

“ugh no it’s fine, i’m done anyways,” violet replied before stepping past clementine and heading to her room.

clementine watched as the other girl descended down the hall before entering the bathroom.

quickly she noticed how much of a curly tangled mess her hair was, to which she attempted to tie into her regular two low buns.

as she began washing her face her thoughts kept going back to the conversation last night. it almost felt somewhat surreal as her first impression of violet was that she was tough and confident but seeing the girl unravel so easily made clem feel a pang in her heart.

violet had lost the person she obviously cared very deeply about and she still was very much affected by it, which made clementine feel guilty about staying in the deceased girl’s room.

at the same time she felt good about their talk as she felt like violet had opened up to her, which might possibly lead to violet becoming one of her close friends.. or more.

no, you shouldn’t think like that, clem told herself. the poor girl still was grieving over the loss of her ex lover and clementine was already beginning to like the girl.

she knew she had from the start but couldn’t bring herself to admit.

clem always knew she had liked boys, she had liked gabe, her ‘boyfriend not really boyfriend’. the problem was she was younger than and it was fun sharing sweet kisses with him behind the baseball stadium at his uncle’s games but he never made her feel weird in the stomach or blush over a compliment.

when javi told lee and his family about his relationship with jesus clementine was astonished at the fact that it was a possible thing to like both boys and girls. that night clementine laid in bed connecting all the dots. she knew she thought gabe was cute but she realised she also thought his younger sister mariana was too. 

but clem tried to not think to much of it, especially the day javi had come out publicly to all the sporting magazines he was often featured in. most people were accepting and went up to him to congratulate him. but the image of a man coming up to him and spitting in his face and calling him the f word burned into clementine’s mind that she didn’t soon forget.

so clem stayed quite, mainly out of fear but also she didn’t feel quite ready yet.

yet violet had made her feel so many new intense things and she had only known the girl for two days.

clementine sighed rubbing her tired eyes into the soft towel as she dried her face.

she was going to tell violet, well soon anyways.

it may not lead to much but at least she would have someone she could talk to about that stuff, someone who understands and can’t judge her.

clem made her way to her room and got ready for the day.

she threw on a pair of jean’s, a lose fitting singlet and a cardigan along with a pair of vans.

she checked the time, seeing that she didn’t have class for another half an hour she fiddled with hair attempting to neaten it and then return back to the living area to retrieve her laptop.

louis was standing in the kitchen in his pjs pouring a bowl of cereal when he noticed clem.

“morning clem,” louis cheerfully spoke. 

“did you sleep well?” he continued in a teasing tone, this seemed to catch violet’s attention who was silently sitting at the dinning table hiding behind a laptop as she seemed to straighten up in her chair.

“yeah, i did,” clementine continued falling straight into his trap.

“i don’t know how you could on that couch, it’s rather uncomfortable, especially with the two of you,” louis teased looking between the two girls.

clem felt her cheeks immediately flush as she gripped the laptop in her hands tightly.

she had assumed violet had left straight after the episode had finished, instead she had fallen asleep on the couch with her. not that there was anything wrong with that, it was a innocent act for sure but it made clem’s hands feel clammy.

violet on the other hand appeared pissed off. 

“how would you know louis, were you stalking us or something?” violet snickered.

“well for your information i was thirsty, also the laptop was really loud so i went to turn it off,” he defended himself shoving a spoon full of cereal in his mouth.

neither of the two had noticed that clem had escaped the room.

in her room clementine attempted to ignore her slight embarrassment by packing her bag. she felt a little overwhelmed with all the feelings she was experiencing which made her want to talk to lee about it all. but she couldn’t, not at the moment anyways.

a little while later the bell rung to signal the students to head to their first lot of classes. clementine caught up with her group as they all exited the dorm.

for majority of the conversation she wasn’t paying attention at all, that was until violet lightly bumped clem in the shoulder with her own.

this caught clem’s attention immediately. 

“hey sorry about louis this morning, he can be a total dick sometimes, don’t let it upset you, he’s only teasing you because he likes you is all,” violet spoke quietly so the other two boys couldn’t hear.

“o-ohh,” clem said slightly surprised.

violet didn’t seem too impressed with clementine’s response initially but put on a small fake smile for the girl.

clementine glanced up at the boy in front of her. louis was cute and all but she didn’t really seem him that way, she honestly thought they would make great friends but she hadn’t really spent much time alone with him to really have much of an opinion.

“was that a good ohh or a bad ohh?” violet finally asked wanting to know for herself.

“it’s a ‘that’s a nice and all but i don’t think i’m interested’ oh,” clem says with a small smile.

instantly violet’s face seems to light up and she gives a small laugh at the other girl which makes clem’s chest feel weird.

the school day seemed to drag on forever and by the time the group made it back once again to their dorm, they settled in their same spots from yesterday and started their homework.

clementine couldn’t focus on her homework. maybe it was her thoughts from this morning or the way violet chewed on her pencil between her lips when she concentrating or the fact that she had been carrying a massive secret around with her for several years, but she couldn’t keep her focus.

abruptly only half way through her homework she stood up.

the other three at the table glanced up from their own work and looked at her.

“i’m um going to see lee,” she told the others to which they all mumbled okays except for violet whose eyes followed clementine as she grabbed her cardigan and exited the dorm.

clementine couldn’t help but feel like her mind was a little bit messy. she tugged at the hair elastics in her hair as she rubbed her skull releasing the tension that had formed from having it tied up all day.

she wondered her way down the hall and down the stair case to the third floor looking for lee’s office. she had only been there once which was on the first day they arrived during their tour of the school.

she found herself knocking on the door and standing on her tippy toes to look through the glass window to see if he was in. she saw the tall man approach the door and open it.

“hey sweet pea what wron-“ but lee was cut off as clementine couldn’t contain herself. she wrapped her arms around her father figure and hid her face in his chest.

lee was quick to comfort the smaller girl, hugging her back and leading her over the the chair opposite his desk before going back and closing the door to provide more privacy.

lee walked back over to clementine and dragged his chair over towards her and sat down making eye level contact with her.

clem didn’t look up, she felt a weird amount of shame for searching for comfort from lee when the situation wasn’t even a big deal.

“clem, sweet pea, is everything okay?” lee attempted to make her speak.

“i-i just..” clem attempted but fell short of words.

lee waited patiently, searching the girl’s face for answers.

clementine felt it in herself that now was the right moment, is she didn’t say anything it would only continue to get worse the longer she kept having those feelings. before she was able to suppress them because she wasn’t around someone who made her feel all these weird new things. violet may only forever just be a friend to clementine but she needed to confess these feelings to someone, otherwise she feared for her own sanity.

3 years is far to long to have kept this secret.

“lee.. i haven’t told you something,” clementine began.

lee remained calm and wore a caring facial expression as he nodded at the girl.

this gave clementine more confidence to continue.

“i’m.. i’m like javi..” clem attempted to explain.

she couldn’t directly say it, not just yet.

lee looked confused at first, as he tried to puzzle together what clem was trying to confess to him. suddenly it finally clicked.

“ohh..” lee replied slightly surprised but not reacting negatively at all.

“clem, you like boys... and girls? is that what you’re trying to tell me,” lee asked.

tears began to fill clem’s eyes as she felt relieved that he finally understood.

she nodded.

“oh sweet pea, don’t cry. you know i don’t care about your preference on who you want to date. as long as they treat you right of course. i love you no matter what and i’m proud of you for being able to tell me this,” lee comforted the girl pulling her into another hug.

“i love you too lee,” clem replied sighing in relief hugging the man back.

she had to admit it felt good to finally tell someone. she felt like a weight had been finally been lifted off her shoulder that she hadn’t even realised was there. it made her feel better about the idea of telling other people, but for now, telling lee was enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> omg thank you guys so much for such a positive response and giving this fic sm love. i’m working on responding back to comments but wanted to get this out first. i’m not sure about everyone time zones but this chapter is coming out later in the day than the past few due to me having one of my last exams today but i hope you all still enjoy, please leave a comment letting me know what you think and i’ll try and get another chapter out asap as i’m enjoying writing this sm!! <3


	6. visitation night part 1

after shedding a few more tears and few words of love and reassurance from lee, clem and lee made their way outside and sat at one of the park benches where they continued their conversation until it got dark.

clementine felt better, she was relieved and her mind felt so much clearer. she was lucky to have someone as kind hearted and accepting as lee in her life and she couldn’t help but wish she had came out sooner.

lee had finished eating the food he had retrieved from the cafeteria just half an hour before after the dinner bell rang.

clem still fiddled with the bowl of pasta in front of her. lee watched her a small proud smile on his face.

“how are you feeling? you said you had known for quite a while, so i imagine finally telling someone would make you feel a shit done of different emotions,” lee spoke softly in a kind voice.

“swear,” clementine scolded him out of habit causing lee to chuckle.

“i.. i think i feel good? like i feel relieved,” she attempted to explain and lee listened attentively like he always did.

“well i’m proud of you clem, and i am glad that you felt like you could tell me,” lee assured her causing clem to smile.

 

clem unlocked the dorm door before walking in and locking it behind her.

the lounge area was dimly lit by the lamp while the rest of the dorm was completely dark.

her three roommates sat around the dinning table playing a board game.

louis was the first to notice her.

“clem! you’re okay! we were starting to get worried that you had runaway and weren’t coming back,” louis joked but his eyes held real concern for the girl.

violet looked up at louis’s comment to notice clem standing behind the couch. violet could tell the girl had been crying, her eyes were slightly red and her hair was a mess but her facial expression told another story.

clem smiled shyly at the group.

“oh, sorry to worry you guys,” she apologised, genuinely feeing bad for causing some sort of concern.

“homework was boring without you,” marlon said trying to lighten the mood, before picking up the dice and rolling it.

shit, clem forgot, she still had homework to do.

“oh right, i better get on that,” clem told them.

louis went to say something but marlon cheered about winning something in the game which drew all the attention back to the board game.

she turned to the books that still sat on the dinning room table. she picked them up and made her way to her room. she honestly didn’t really want to talk to her three new friends as she was still riding off the adrenaline of telling lee and needed a moment to get her head straight (not literally).

she turned on her desk lamp in her room and dumped her school work on her desk before changing into a comfy red sweatshirt and leggings preparing for the large amount of work she had left herself.

clem didn’t remember how long she had been sitting there doing her homework but she knew it was late in the night. there was a sudden knock on the door which made clem jump slightly. 

“it’s open,” she spoke her voice sounding slightly croaky.

she span around on her chair to see violet entering her room and leaning against the door. 

“hey,” violet said facing clementine.

“hey,” clementine responded looking at the blonde headed girl in front of her.

“sorry, i know it’s probably not my place to ask, but.. are you okay? you kind of left rather abruptly,” violet spoke softly which was unusually to her normal harsh tone. 

“uhh yeah sorry, i’m fine, i just needed to talk to lee about something,” clementine told her. she technically wasn’t lying, she just wasn’t exactly explaining the situation fully.

“ohh okay..” violet replied, realising not the push the topic.

a silence fell between the two.

“i.. umm... homework and dinner was boring without you,” violet said, supporting marlon’s comment from earlier.

clem smiled at this, pulling her legs to her chest.

“i’m not sure how, i hardly talk to anyone,” clem joked.

violet shrugged looking down at her socks on her feet.

“clem.. if you ever need someone to talk too.. i’m here, uh you know. like you were there for me and everything the other night and i just want you to know that i’m there for you too i guess,” 

this made clementine’s heart soar. she couldn’t help but smile and blush at violet’s offer of comfort.

“thanks vi, that means a lot,” she replied bitting her lip slightly.

violet smiled back, relieved clementine didn’t get weirded out by her offer.

“no worries, i um better head to bed, it’s late. i’ll see you tomorrow... night clem,”

“night, vi.”

 

 

the next three weeks went by in a blur. clementine could feel herself slowly begin to relax around her roommates and new group of friends. outside of class she spent her time helping omar bake cupcakes, doing homework with her group, learning the piano with louis and playing card games with brody and rosie. she also made sure to eat with lee and AJ every second night, along with nightly rituals of watching brooklyn 99 with her roommates who had fallen in love with show after she introduced them.

every friday day violet and clem would have the dorm to themselves as marlon had football practice and louis taught some of the grade 5’s the piano. the two had already begun a routine of scavenging as many snacks as they could find in the tiny kitchen, building a fort in the lounge area out of the endless amount of blankets that had around the dorm and laying in it, eating the snacks, watching netflix and just talking.

violet was the one to first suggest the idea, to which clem quickly agreed due to her enjoying violet’s company greatly. maybe a little too much.

it was another friday night and the two girls had been lounging in their homemade fort for the past half an hour talking about the week so far.

clem had to admit, violet and her had become relatively good friends over the past few weeks, she enjoyed learning new things about the girl and it seemed that violet felt the same.

“all i’m saying is that chicken nuggets are perfect for every meal,” violet rambled to clementine, trying to convince her friend she was right.

“i don’t think i could ever eat chicken nuggets for breakfast,” clementine responded with a smirk.

suddenly the front door burst open followed by the sound of the their two other roommates. clementine shifted a blanket to look out at the two boys to her confusion. they weren’t supposed to be back for another hour and a half. 

violet seemed unbothered by the two boys and went back to browsing for a movie on netflix on the laptop.

“what are you guys doing back so early?” clementine asked, not visible to the boys.

“wow, glad to see you too clem,” louis joked placing his school back on the dinning table.

“it’s visitation night, we have to get ready before our parents get here so after school activities only run for half an hour,” marlon explained kicking off his football shoes.

clementine sat back down in her original spot, glancing at violet who seemed to be deliberately avoiding clem’s eyes.

“you never mentioned that vi?” clem questioned the girl.

violet just shrugged and clem couldn’t help but feel a little hurt.

“you should tell lee and aj to come meet down in the dinning hall clem, that’s where everyone meets, they have activities set up for everyone and their families,” louis explained.

clementine climbed out from the fort.

“yeah, i’ll call lee now,” she told louis, searching the room for her phone.

after grabbing her phone she immediately called lee watching as louis walked around to the front of the fort to speak to violet, where he squatted.

lee picked up after two rings.

“hey sweet pea, i was just about to call you,” lee answered.

“hey, guess i’m just too quick. were you going to call me about the visitation night?” clem asked.

“yeah, i was going to see if you and aj were keen to go see what it was all about, maybe we can play a family board game or something,” lee explained.

clementine noticed some shuffling in the fort as louis and violet’s ‘whisper’ conversation got louder.

“sure sounds good, i’ll see you guys in a bit,” clem assured lee.

“awesome, see you then,”

“bye,” clementine hung up as violet emerged from the fort making louis step back a bit.

“whatever louis,” violet said looking rather upset, she pushed past the boy and stormed off to her room.

“what happen?” clem asked.

“well, she’s coming to the visitation night now,” louis replied with a fake smile trying to lighten the room.

clem didn’t ask anymore questions but looked at the boy confused.

 

after showering and getting changed, the group made their way down to the dinning hall. on their way they passed a bunch of their classmates who were wandering around the school with their parents.

clem glanced at violet which made her blush slightly. the girl wore a plaid skirt with stockings along with a black woollen turtle neck jumper, she was hunched over and had her arms crossed appearing awfully mad. clem had never seen violet in such a nice outfit, not that she didn’t think all her other outfits were nice, but this was something more a parent would approve of, yet it still had a hint of violet’s style, clem thought as she glanced at violet’s doc martin boots.

clem had settled on a long sleeved white shirt with one of her floral spaghetti strapped skater dresses over the top with her vans. she felt somewhat a little underdressed compared to her friends, but she reminded herself that it wasn’t a special occasion for her, she had no one visiting her, as he family was already here.

they entered the dinning/cafeteria area which was flooded with students sitting at the tables along side their family members, playing games, talking, eating and engaging in other activities.

marlon was the first to split off from the group, waving at the group as he walked by. clementine was next attacked by aj who had run at her at full speed, engulfing her in a hug to which he was only tall enough to hug her around the waist.

“oof, hey goofball, where’s lee?” clem asked.

“we are over at this table, come on, we are going to play monopoly,” aj explained excitedly, almost jumping up and down with energy.

clem turned to her other two friends who had already started to walk off into the room more, louis on his tippy toes searching for his and violet’s families.

clem smiled before following aj back to their table.

 

after a game of monopoly, a stomach full of dinner and a game of 31, the everett family were one of the last families to leave the dinning hall.

clem had to admit, was fun to spend the night with her family, she didn’t realise how much she had missed aj and lee until then. it was also interesting to watch all the other kids interact with their families, majority of them smiling and having a good time.

lee and aj hugged clementine goodnight as they had decided to head back to their dorm for sleep as it was already 9. 

clementine stood up and glanced around the room as most kids hugged their parents goodbye or were still engaged in a conversation.

“hey clem,” louis heard a voice call her name.

she turned around to see the tall lanky boy make his way over to her, concern on his face.

“hey what’s up? did something happen with your family?” clem asked instantly beginning to worry for the boy.

“uh no no, everything’s fine. i just... have you seen vi? i lost sight of her after i found my parents and i’ve looked around the dinning hall and checked the dorm and she’s not there. i texted marlon and he said she’s not in the courtyard either,” louis explained rather distressed.

“no, i haven’t actually. i’ll help you look though, where else haven’t you checked?”

“i’m gonna go check the rest of the groups dorms and the archery shed, maybe check the girls bathrooms and the bell tower?” louis suggested.

clementine nodded in response.

“i’ll text you if i find her,” she promised.

louis seemed a little relieved from clem’s offer to help and smiled at the girl before exiting the dinning hall.

clem immediately tried calling violet but she didn’t answer so she made her way through all the bottom floor bathrooms, calling for violet in each one. unfortunately she heard no response, and decided to try her chances in the bell tower.

outside she noticed there had been some damage done to the tree beside the tower as a bunch of bark surrounded it’s roots. probably the younger kids clem thought rolling her eyes before entering the tower. it was almost completely dark but clem was able to use her phone flashlight to prevent her from tripping on the stairs. it was eerily quiet and clem decided it was best not to call out for violet as if she was up there she might get startled.

breathlessly clem finally reached the top to which her breath was taken away a second time at the sight of the night sky. it was beautiful, she could see where the sky met the trees from here. clem searched around until she noticed another figure sitting on the ground looking up at the sky.

it was violet, she could tell by the way the girl held her shoulders. but as clem made her way over she could hear sniffling from the girl, her hair was a mess and she was holding her knuckles in her hands.

clem’s heart throbbed at the the painful sight in front of her.

“oh vi,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow finally another chapter. sorry for totally falling off the grid but i’m back with an extra long chapter so i hope you enjoy! let me know what you think and i’ll hopefully post the next part tomorrow.


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